I think he has potential. Afterall, you can take a young, fast guy and get him to slow down just a touch to quit crashing; but you can't take a slow guy and make him fast*. Pastor will mature, and improve. Hell, he might turn out to be pretty damn good.

*(I know this because I am the slow guy)

Possibly, but take away his funding and do you currently see any other team signing him?

Best thing is now after all those mistakes he knows that he was wrong and that he needs to improve if he wants to become competitive and fight for wins and possibly the championship. It will be interesting how Williams will pan out next year, but i think that they will have a very strong car considering their pace in singapore and barcelona, two totally different tracks which means that with the right setup, Williams can win everywhere.

but i think that they will have a very strong car considering their pace in singapore and barcelona, two totally different tracks which means that with the right setup, Williams can win everywhere.

Not really everywhere. This car doesn't seem to like long straights- chicanes combo and it wasn't very competitive in Canada and Monza. They need to change the car very much before they want to be able to challenge for podiums on this kind of tracks.

We have seen similar routes of evolution, cars having strengths at certain circuits going on to evolve into much stronger and all round package. Williams is on right path. Hope we will see Williams consistently on podium next year.

The FW34 is competitive anywhere in clear air, in traffic it's just another midfield car apparently. The long run pace in Canada was similar to Lewis' McLaren but the quali killed a big chance there.

The FW34 showed great long run pace during FP2 in Canada, I remember doing a comparison between the drivers and it actually indicated that Williams would have the best race pace of all! But it was never there in the race even in clear air, and I was bitterly disappointed.

The FW34 showed great long run pace during FP2 in Canada, I remember doing a comparison between the drivers and it actually indicated that Williams would have the best race pace of all! But it was never there in the race even in clear air, and I was bitterly disappointed.

Yup! it was a disappointment as well in the end of Q2 seeing pastor doing a purple S1 and a green S2 to bin it at the WoC. looking at the deg of other guys at the end of the race shows a win was possible.

I don't know about what are you talking about. In Canada, between laps 10th and 42nd Maldonado wasn't in traffic (less than 1,5 seconds from the car in front that wasn't pulling away from him) by even one single lap. On lap 10th he was one place and 2 seconds behind Ricciardo and Ricciardo managed to stay in front of him to lap 58 and his second pit stop. Despite not being in traffic, Pastor lost 4 seconds between laps 10 and 28 to Raikkonen, who was on simillar strategy and has finished the race with unspectacular 8th. From lap 30 to 35 he couldn't even close the cap to Vergne who was on much older tyres.

Not to mention that Senna struggled to beat even Caterham in this race and this was his worst race of the year by some margin.

It's clear that FW34 hadn't even a top5 potential in Canada. Challenging Raikkonen for 8th was the best Maldonado could've done if he didn't crash in Q2. I'm not sure even this could succeed.

I don't know about what are you talking about. In Canada, between laps 10th and 42nd Maldonado wasn't in traffic (less than 1,5 seconds from the car in front that wasn't pulling away from him) by even one single lap. On lap 10th he was one place and 2 seconds behind Ricciardo and Ricciardo managed to stay in front of him to lap 58 and his second pit stop. Despite not being in traffic, Pastor lost 4 seconds between laps 10 and 28 to Raikkonen, who was on simillar strategy and has finished the race with unspectacular 8th. From lap 30 to 35 he couldn't even close the cap to Vergne who was on much older tyres.

Not to mention that Senna struggled to beat even Caterham in this race and this was his worst race of the year by some margin.

It's clear that FW34 hadn't even a top5 potential in Canada. Challenging Raikkonen for 8th was the best Maldonado could've done if he didn't crash in Q2. I'm not sure even this could succeed.

Indeed! I really thought Pastor would storm up the field when he got some clear air, but he couldn't even keep up with the Toro Rossos. The pace from FP2 never materialized in the race, and instead it was Perez that stormed through the field.

I think the problem in Canada was the huge diference in track temps between FP2 and the race. IIRC track temps in FP2 was about 22 degrees whereas in the races it was 45 degrees. IMO that was what killed the performance of the FW34 during the race.

Can anyone explain why McLaren didn't pick up Pastor to replace Lewis? [That question started off in my mind as being quite sarcastic, and not a little bit rhetorical, but has grown up to be an honest inquiry.]

Can anyone explain why McLaren didn't pick up Pastor to replace Lewis? [That question started off in my mind as being quite sarcastic, and not a little bit rhetorical, but has grown up to be an honest inquiry.]

Maybe because he's the only person who sees the stewards more than Lewis did...

Not sure if this has been mentioned here, but the Venezuelan presidential elections are in 4 days and it is looking like it is going to be a very close race*. With Maldonado effectively backed by the government as well as being personal friend of Hugo Chávez, could a loss for the United Socialist Party on Sunday throw his 2013 drive into dispute?

"We had a lot of bad luck this year, not only with problems with the car but with the stewards."

Maldonado has had 'bad luck with the stewards'. Interesting. Still hasn't learnt anything it seems and it's all always somebody else's fault, god he really is as stupid as he looks. The good news is if he continues like he has and sees no fault in his driving the championship is still wide open.

...could a loss for the United Socialist Party on Sunday throw his 2013 drive into dispute?

How many drivers can score a pole position and a win in a Williams? He may have been involved in many accidents but... he has proven that he can win races and was fabulous in Singapore. If he can calm down, decrease his driving errors and be less punished by the stewards (imho he wasn't always fairly punished) then he is a driver that many teams will want, even without money. Not many drivers have got the pace that he does.

How many drivers can score a pole position and a win in a Williams? He may have been involved in many accidents but... he has proven that he can win races and was fabulous in Singapore. If he can calm down, decrease his driving errors and be less punished by the stewards (imho he wasn't always fairly punished) then he is a driver that many teams will want, even without money. Not many drivers have got the pace that he does.

Several I'd guess. Like Sauber, I suspect that the Williams car has been let down by its drivers. Maldonado, blindingly quick as he can be, seems too inconsistent for a top driver - and Senna, as much as I'd like him to succeed, is simply not good enough. Neither of them seem able to to make much progress when racing other cars, except bump into them. They have, however, not gained much help from Williams usual conservative strategies. I can't understand, when they have a car that is very kind to the tyres, why they don't go for more one-stoppers, like Sauber. Based on some of Maldonados qualifying runs, kindness to its tyres and long stint pace I believe the FW34 is better than the Force India, Mercedes, probably Sauber, should be 5th in the constructors championship and not far behind Renault in fourth.

Maldonado has had 'bad luck with the stewards'. Interesting. Still hasn't learnt anything it seems and it's all always somebody else's fault, god he really is as stupid as he looks. The good news is if he continues like he has and sees no fault in his driving the championship is still wide open.

Looking at the Silverstone and Hungary penalties I would say they were very harsh.

Monaco and a couple of others on the other hand were just plain brain fade moments for which he could have been punished more severely than he was

I feel somewhat remiss in not giving Maldonado the credit due in driving a clean race into the points at long last. Why he threw it all away after the Spanish Grand Prix I don't know, but I'll be willing to forgive him if he keeps it up.

You know it has got bad for a driver when him not crashing for a couple of races makes him a changed man.

If they don't think Perez was ready for a Ferrari seat then Maldanado has no hope of getting that drive.

That doesn't alter the fact that, when out front at Barcelona, he soaked up the pressure of 20-odd laps with Alonso glued to his rear wing as though he was on a country drive, even though he must have been aware that it could be his only chance of winning a race all year. I think he's got more natural speed that anyone bar Hamilton, if only he could sort out his brain fades.

That doesn't alter the fact that, when out front at Barcelona, he soaked up the pressure of 20-odd laps with Alonso glued to his rear wing as though he was on a country drive, even though he must have been aware that it could be his only chance of winning a race all year. I think he's got more natural speed that anyone bar Hamilton, if only he could sort out his brain fades.

I think we underestimate the profundity of the Pirelli influence during that time of the year.

Even Maldonado allowed it to get to his head. He knows no other F1 than Formula Pirelli.

The rest of the year has been very sobering for him, I'm sure. He was quite bullish after that win. I think he now appreciates just how fortuitous it was and that it could not have happened under normal circumstances with the tires. I can bet that after that win he was not at all thinking that things would have turned out the way that they have. Time is the reality checker for those who pay attention and not revel in too much reminiscing over strange situations.

Drivers feel a lot better with multiple championships. It gets rid of the fluke or luck factor.

I think we underestimate the profundity of the Pirelli influence during that time of the year.

Even Maldonado allowed it to get to his head. He knows no other F1 than Formula Pirelli.

The rest of the year has been very sobering for him, I'm sure. He was quite bullish after that win. I think he now appreciates just how fortuitous it was and that it could not have happened under normal circumstances with the tires. I can bet that after that win he was not at all thinking that things would have turned out the way that they have. Time is the reality checker for those who pay attention and not revel in too much reminiscing over strange situations.

Drivers feel a lot better with multiple championships. It gets rid of the fluke or luck factor.

I don't really accept this thing about Maldonado "fluking" the win at Barcelona. Doubtless the Williams hit the sweet spot with the tyres better than any other car that weekend, but his team-mate was nowhere and it would have been very easy for an inexperienced driver to abuse the tyres in the final stint, whereas Maldonado controlled them exceptionally well - better, indeed, than did Alonso at the event in question. So there's some serious raw potential there. Had he not made a sow's ear of the middle of the season and had instead steadily racked up the points I suspect he would have been a serious contender for a top seat by now.

I don't really accept this thing about Maldonado "fluking" the win at Barcelona. Doubtless the Williams hit the sweet spot with the tyres better than any other car that weekend, but his team-mate was nowhere and it would have been very easy for an inexperienced driver to abuse the tyres in the final stint, whereas Maldonado controlled them exceptionally well - better, indeed, than did Alonso at the event in question. So there's some serious raw potential there. Had he not made a sow's ear of the middle of the season and had instead steadily racked up the points I suspect he would have been a serious contender for a top seat by now.

It's not Williams that hit the sweet spot, but Maldonado in his Williams. These tires have been quite beneficial to some driver reputations while it has been destructive for others.

Schumi got it right. I agree with him that Black Gold has been a major irritation since his return, especially this year. Only a few should struggle with the tires while most are OK. It shouldn't be the other way around.

Anyway..... Things are a lot more consistent now. Funny that the freakish wins have disappeared with that. It will take a while for us to appreciate the helter skelter nature of F1 results earlier this year.

I don't really accept this thing about Maldonado "fluking" the win at Barcelona. Doubtless the Williams hit the sweet spot with the tyres better than any other car that weekend, but his team-mate was nowhere and it would have been very easy for an inexperienced driver to abuse the tyres in the final stint, whereas Maldonado controlled them exceptionally well - better, indeed, than did Alonso at the event in question. So there's some serious raw potential there. Had he not made a sow's ear of the middle of the season and had instead steadily racked up the points I suspect he would have been a serious contender for a top seat by now.

That is an interesting point you made there.Personally, I have moved from rating Pastor as "a mediocre pay driver" to a "work in progress" let's say. I now believe that he is fast, but temperamental and can shut his brain off very easily (just like JPM); but I also believe that when he keep his head down, he puts the car where it shouldn't be (Singapore, Japan are just two recent examples of that). However, I think he has a lot of baggage when one is speaking of a top team: in a way, he "belongs" to Chavez' media, and hence PDVSA sponsorship would follow him around. Would a top team be happy to be associated with who can be described, in the best case as a delusional figure (in the worst as a crazy dictator) that is Chavez? Would a top team be willing to let their image being used for political propaganda purposes? I think that with Williams they didn't have much choice, but I also suspect that the question mark about his seat for next year can be due to that. Now, think of McLaren taking him instead of Perez, and appearing in PDVSA commercial and official political propaganda in Venezuela because of that... Somehow, cannot see the guys at Woking too excited with *that* sort of PR work

That is an interesting point you made there.Personally, I have moved from rating Pastor as "a mediocre pay driver" to a "work in progress" let's say. I now believe that he is fast, but temperamental and can shut his brain off very easily (just like JPM); but I also believe that when he keep his head down, he puts the car where it shouldn't be (Singapore, Japan are just two recent examples of that). However, I think he has a lot of baggage when one is speaking of a top team: in a way, he "belongs" to Chavez' media, and hence PDVSA sponsorship would follow him around. Would a top team be happy to be associated with who can be described, in the best case as a delusional figure (in the worst as a crazy dictator) that is Chavez? Would a top team be willing to let their image being used for political propaganda purposes? I think that with Williams they didn't have much choice, but I also suspect that the question mark about his seat for next year can be due to that. Now, think of McLaren taking him instead of Perez, and appearing in PDVSA commercial and official political propaganda in Venezuela because of that... Somehow, cannot see the guys at Woking too excited with *that* sort of PR work

Straying off the point, but Venezuela has had fair elections throuout the entirety of Chavez's reign. He could have been voted out of office.

I'm still not sure of Pastor. We don't know how good the Williams is. Bruno lost badly against Petrov, who is matching Heikki but was thumped by Kubica before him. Bruno wasn't really better than Chandok even.

I'd struggle to rate Pastor better than Kobayashi, who delivers more often in the races in a car that is a fair amount more 'erratic' in performance at certain tracks. Bruno is possibly the 2nd worst driver on the grid, after Narain, whereas Perez is a future champion if we keep these tyres. The gap between Pastor and Senna is only 1 point more than that between Di Resta and Hulkenburg, who are both fairly good.

Judging by qualifying performance Williams could potentially be better than Sauber, and Pastor was not that much better than Rubens last year. Maldonado is beating Senna by only a small margin in the points, and the vast majority of that is down to his own making.

The Sauber has only been able to match leaders on the same strategy on performance at one race, Japan, and both Pastor and Kamui blew their fast qualifying in Spa. The Williams ran at the front in Spain, Valencia, Singapore on the same strategy as everyone else.

Straying off the point, but Venezuela has had fair elections throuout the entirety of Chavez's reign. He could have been voted out of office.

Tad off-topic: Not really fair per se: people in public positions (nowadays, most of venezuelans) being asked to vote for Chavez in order to maintain their jobs, the government keeping track of where do those people vote, and correlating with the pro-chavez votes, etc... Talking with a few Venezuelans here and there usually paints a darker image of their "fair" elections. I even have known people who, according to them, have had to leave the country under threat after not voting for Chavez in previous elections (the vote is supposed to be secret, but...). He is not at level with Assad yet, but when you like to hang out with the likes of Iran, North Korea, Libya (he gave Gaddaffi the biggest honor confered by the Venezuelan government), while at the same time keep repressing, threatening and silencing those inside your country who think differently doesn't put him that far either.